The Long Neck Women

The Long Neck Women.

 

Today I started writing the chapter in my book of my adventures in Thailand.

This particular adventure involves a girlfriend and I ( whom is just as badd ass as I am. We are from the same breeding ground you see. Small country town Australia ) hitching our way through parts of Thailand, meeting a Burmese man that was hiding from the Thai government and sneaking into the refugee camp that he had called home so he could see some of his family.

 

My friend and I were housed behind the tourist gates of the compound where the Dragon women and their families are held. Incorrectly referred to as the "long-neck" women, girls can be as young as five-years-old when they begin to be fitted with brass rings around their necks. To be chosen for this life ritual is a divine sign from birth with many layers involved.

Longer rings are added as they grow older, in effect deforming the chest and shoulders to give the illusion that their necks are abnormally long. 

 

With refugee camp # 3 just meters away behind the water well, many tourists do not realize that these women with their necks ringed in brass are actually Burmese , not from Thai hill tribes.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s due to conflict with the military regime in Myanmar, many Kayan tribes fled to the Thai border area.[

Not unlike a "human zoo," this northern Thailand’s Padaung Karen hill tribe village is amongst the country’s most controversial tourist attractions. My friend and I spent our days there taking tourists aside and telling them what was really going on and even showed a few of them the huge refugee camp just a few steps away.

 

When we spoke to those we stayed with many women talked with pride of their choice to wear the rings out of a genuine desire to carry on with the tradition. Yet for some of these villages have no access to electricity, roads, healthcare and schools. 

To get there we had to hide in safe houses at night and crawl our way through rice paddies to be met with open arms by a family living in a house made of card board boxes.

Making our way past the well we were then welcomed by our Burmese friends extended family where we stayed for three nights whilst he gathered more stories for the book he was publishing.

 

I have moved onto many other adventures, my girlfriend has been further a filed, had many babies and returned back to Australia, whilst our Burmese friend and off the beaten track tour guide has published his book “From The Land of Green Ghosts”, all those that welcomed me into their homes and hearts are still living in their state of no mans land with each day the same as the last.

Please. If you are in Thailand and you know others that are thinking of going to visit these people, know that the money you pay to get in does not reach the people that are on “show”. Go in, take good food and pay them directly.

Then protest that it should be happening at all.

I am a mama of a wild 10 yr old boy living in the jungle of Costa Rica.

FcBk.Jungle Love Wild.

A wild life Living in the Jungle 

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Food Foraging. Super Food Greens.

Food foraging.

3 super food greens 

 

Here in the Jungle of Costa Rica where I live with my 10yr old son we often go out amoungst the plants and collect what we eat. Barefooted and often in the rain we collect greens and roots to eat.

Below are 3 super food greens that are growing around our wooden house.

The Mayan Chaya

 

Chaya, commonly known as “tree spinach”, it could be one of the most important edible-leaved plants in the tropics. Requiring little maintenance it is an excellent source of vitamins, fiber, proteins and enzymes. The levels of Chaya leaf nutrients are two to threefold greater than most edible leafy green vegetables. Chaya is significantly more nutritious than spinach, amaranth and Chinese cabbage:

Here in Costa Rica most locals only know it as an ornamental or living fence-line calling it “chicasquil” which is kind of unfortunate as it is and incredible nutritious food left un touched. Except by us. We love the stuff.

But be aware... Do Not Eat It Raw !! toxic as hell really when not cooked. Chaya leaves and shoots contain toxic hydrocyanic glycosides. So you need to cook it for at least five minutes to rid the stems and leaves of the poisonous cyanide components, before adding it to your stir fry. We also use the leaves to roll up rice and other grains a lot like sushi. Tico style.

Next we have Katuk.

 

Also a dangerous leaf if eaten raw too long. As you can see it IS dangerous out here in the Jungle !!
Best to boil first if eating over many months to eliminate anti-protozoa properties.
We have been using it in our smoothies..woops. But up until now we have not noticed any of the side effects such as difficulty in sleeping or lung disorders such as bronchiolitis.



Aside of the danger eating it raw Katuk contains 59 cal energy, 6.4 g protein, 1.0 g fat, 9.9 g carbohydrate, 1.5 g fiber, 1.7 g ash, 233 mg calcium, 98 mg phosphorus , 3.5 mg iron, 10020 mcg carotene, 164 mg vitamin A, B, and C, and 81 g of water. WOAH !! All of this is in 100g of the leaves. Majorely katuk helps feeding mothers to bring in and increase their breast milk.
Other benefits of the leaf used externally include in the aid of ulcers and sores, Constipation or other difficult bowel issues and some skin diseases.

And now for the humble Spinach.

 

Introducing Chenopodium album also known as lambs quarters, or pigweed.
A very common garden weeds, Wild Spinach is edible and delicious. With a deeper & more robust flavor than spinach without that squeaky teeth feeling.
Rich in magnesium and potassium, more fiber, beta carotene (pro-vitamin A), vitamin C, riboflavin, calcium, zinc, copper and manganese than domestic spinach.

Why Food Forage??

It is free, you get to gather nutrient dense food that is tasty, food miles are non existence enabling your ego and feel good neurons to ping, you get to eat healthy organic food for free and you get to meet neighbours. 
Here in the jungle they would include monkeys, toucans, snakes and butterflies.


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Have a GLORIOUS day. 

AWEsome liquid fast drinks

Liquid Monday

Three Kick arse , keep your knickers on ( or off ) smoothie recipes to make you want to stay at home and drink all day !!

For a few years now I have wanted to get into the habit of liquid fasting for one day a week.

I have given it a try every now and then and sometimes I was in the swing of it , then would just forget, organizing to meet friends for lunch or something on the day I was meant ot be drinking juisces or smoothies or teas all day.!!! Woops.

AND as Frederic Patenaude....says

“If you haven’t given up caffeine completely and you’re starting to get serious headaches that impair your ability to work, have a little bit of caffeine. This is not going to affect the other good results you’ll get from your fast, but will get rid of your caffeine headaches. Think about ways you can reduce or eliminate your caffeine intake so that next time you fast, you will not get a caffeine withdrawal headache.”

But with a new found passion for it all I am loving my mondays filed with liquid and wanted to share some great recipes I have created which make the day a lot of fun and givng my digestion a break each week.

Papaya Joy.

Flesh of a whole papaya

Water from one coconut

A chunk of ginger

Aloe vera flesh.

A few raw cacao beans ( with the flesh dried around them if you can ! )

BLEND

Orgasmic Tumeric Tea.

 

 

 

A huge handfull of fresh Tumeric root

A large hand grab of ginger root

Black pepper

Cardomon pods

1/3 of a Vanilla bean

Cinnamon

Coconut oil

Honey.

Simmer the tumeric, ginger, black pepper and cardomon podes in a saucepan for about 20 min.

Blend this mixture in a good blender and strain.

Return the liquid to the blender and blend with the vanilla, cinnamon ( to taste ) coconut oil and honey .

DRINK

SO GOOD !

Black Sapote Awesomeness.

The flesh of a ripe black sapote

Coconut meat

Water or coconut water

Cinnamon to taste.

& if you like it sweet..a dash of honey..

BLEND..and DRINK

 

Beyond !!!

ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY

 

The Great Noni Colada.

The Noni Colada.

Behold the Noni fruit.

 

Scientifically known as Morinda citrifola or as the great morinda.. which I am sure none of you will know it as because lets face it... it is not a word thrown around.

Another great name that is used for the Noni is dog dumpling (Barbados) or Indian mulberry, nunaakai (Tamil Nadu, India) and even beach mulberry, cheese fruit, or noni (Hawaii).

 

What ever you call it most know it as the fruit that stinks !!!

 It is green at first when on the tree but by the time it has fallen onto the ground it slowly simmers as it ripens and turns white....ish whilst giving off a pungent odor.

An incredible Immune system booster that contains antibacterial agents that fight infectious bacteria. The Noni is antipsychotic, antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects which are valuable in treating conditions like arthritis and disorders related to central nervous system.

Even more so the noni is well known in the prevention of cancer, protection and healthy functioning of liver maintenance of cardiovascular health.

and it goes on..

So how do you enjoy this pungent fruit?

With THIS Noni Colada recipe....

 

 

Ingredients.

Loads of coconut water ( well one big one will do...)

a juicy sweet pineapple

Fresh ginger root.

Tumeric root

and a noni fruit..

BLEND ( I am loving my new Vitamix … )

After blending... strain..it is important to strain and not eat the seeds...

and Viola... Liquid healthy vitalizing sunshine.

Enjoy .. 

suggestions include.. sitting in the sun naked, or drink whilst in a fresh water hole. And definitely with other juicy sexy fun lovin people !!!

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Raw Chocolate Coconut Liquid Love Bomb

Raw  Chocolate Coconut  liquid  Love bomb.

 

From tree to glass.

Amazing but true.. all these ingredients come straight from the tree to your kitchen to make the most incredible liquid chocolate love bomb ever !!

 

Black Sapote

Coconut meat

Cinnamon ( mine was freshly ground from the bark yesterday !!! )

Vanilla Bean &

Cardamon.

 

Basically throw all ingredients into a good blender and mix !!

If you need to sweeten it UP...add some honey......

viola

 Incredible - ness right there!!

Behold the 

Black-Sapote  

a.k.a “the Chocolate Pudding Fruit”. 

 

Most who have tried this fruit will tell you that it really does taste very much like chocolate pudding  and has the same consistency too. AND they are lower in fat (than a store bought chocolate pudding) & contain about four times as much vitamin C as your average orange. 

Live on ALL things Chocolate.

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I drank my Blood.

I drank my blood.

photo credit Chanel Baran

In life there are many moments that you assume will turn out differently.

Like your first kiss,

 your first week end away from home,

 that trip to Paris 

and losing your virginity.

We spend years thinking about these monumentous events, planning them with detail in our minds to only find after the fact they turned out nothing at all like we thought and dearly hoped they would.

Drinking my menstrual blood  was exactly like that.

 

I have been thinking about it for awhile, researching why to do it and planning a ritualistic way of partaking in this part of our Menstrual Mysteries.

This ‘Love Feast’ or ‘Sacred Marriage’ – a core part of the Menstrual Mysteries – was eventually declared a heresy and women were barred from participating in Christian rites.

However the ‘Power of Renewal, Rebirth, and Resurrection’ previously associated with the Holy Womb and Menstrual Blood of the Divine Mother was transferred to the story of Jesus and his ritual of Eucharist – ‘hic est sanguis meus – this is the Chalice of my Blood’ – where worshippers ‘drank his blood’ to gain the power of Rebirth through him.

 

In most ancient myths and religions, throughout the world dating back hundreds of thousands of years, the power of rebirth had always been a blessing of the Feminine Womb – embodied and gifted by Sacred Womb Priestesses across many cultures. It had never been held by a man. Although there are many legends about the ‘menstrual powers of female shamans’ being stolen by male gods.

SO with all of that in mind I had high hopes of sacred fires, altars, candles and prayers for the first time I would drink my blood.

Instead, it happened in the bathroom of a cafe down in a sea side town we stopped at during a road trip in Costa Rica.

I could feel I had started bleeding as we drove down the mountain.

On arriving to the cafe I grabbed a cup , filled it half way with water, a slice of lemon and in the bathroom collected a stream of blood and downed it all before I could think twice.

Just like that.

Over the next few days, my friend I was travelling with, her son and mine all got sick with a virus. But I did not.

Known as the ‘drink of immortality’ women's menstrual blood is full of healing stem cells, which can actually activate our cellular capacity to regenerate and transport us to endocrine states of rapture. Or in a spiritual sense open us to the Frequency of Love and Eternal Life, transporting us to another Dimension – called Heaven, Paradise, Nirvana etc.

And it seems keep us immune to viruses as others all around fall like flies.

"Salud.

Jack Fruit IceCream ... straight from the tree

Vegan Ice Cream...... straight from the tree.

Jack Fruit (my new love )

Banana

Ginger

I served some of my ice cream to a guest the other day, and he said   “oh.  It is just like a frozen smoothie.”

Well yes......

Mainly because in our family we can't be bothered putting it into small cups, placing a paddle pop stick in it and returning it to the freezer.

At this time of year here in Costa Rica, food foraging makes for one of the most delicious and sensuous Vegan ice creams I know.

Jack fruit, banana and ginger ice cream, sorbet,  or as some say a bowl of frozen smoothie.

What ever you want to call it. It is delicious and can be eaten for breakfast lunch or dinner.

Now that is my kind of ice cream .

If you live in the jungle as we do, then there is good chance that you will have a supply of frozen bananas that never seem to end in your freezer all ready. Bananas grow like hot cakes down here and supply us with year round sweetness and on the go snacks.

I have been patiently waiting for the jack fruit to be ready that is growing and swelling in twos just down from my house.

As it is not quite ready I snuffled some sweet orange flesh from a neighbour of mine for this ice cream.

Then I dug up some ginger, washed off the "terra firma" peeled away the skin and blended some fresh pieces with the two fruits.

To make it extra creamy I used both fresh and frozen bananas, about 4 in total.

A very large handful of jack fruit and about 3 pieces of ginger the size of my thumb nail.

Very precise measurements as you can see.

Blend together, throw on a few leaves of mint and try to eat it slowly !!

Or before the kitten gets to it first.

Enjoy.

And always eat with passion and delight.